[Satellite News 09-10-09] The fall of U.S. commercial launch service Sea Launch may offer an opportunity for both Boeing Launch Services (BLS) and Lockheed Martin Commercial Launch Services (LMCLS) to become a force in the U.S. commercial launch services market. But, with lucrative existing U.S. government business, both companies are no rush to make an aggressive push into the commercial arena, executives from the company said on a Euroconsult panel Wednesday.
    Ken Heinly, president of BLS, said his company is working on the price issue. “I still think we offer value. But, we want to make sure we do good deals. What I found, is around two years ago, is that with the strength of the dollar, I thought the pricing for a Delta 4 launch was getting within 10 percent of the price of an Ariane 5 launch. It maybe more like 20 percent now,” he said.
    David Markham, president of LMCLS, said the company has only limited commercial ambitions. “We have identified one or two commercial launches a year. We don’t have an intention to make large commercial market share play with our product. In terms of how we participate in the market, it is business case driven,” said Markham.
    However, Markham confirmed the company is taking the possibility of more favorable conditions in the future, into consideration. “We have seen [commercial launch] prices rise. In 2008, we were 5-10 percent more expensive than the market. I would say we are now 15 percent away from market conditions that we could look to extend beyond 1-2 commercial missions,” he said.
     For Sea Launch, the challenge is to ultimately coming up with a winning strategy as it looks to exit Chapter 11. Kjell Karlsen, president and general manager of Sea Launch, admitted it had been a bitter sweet year for the company. “2009 has been bitter sweet. In April, we conducted our 30th successful mission. In June, we had to file for Chapter 11 protection. We are working on an exit strategy of Chapter 11. We aim to do this by the end of the first quarter next year. The next Sea Launch launch will not take place until the fourth quarter next year. We fully expect to emerge as a stronger, better capitalized company going forward. We believe we are going to be a reliable option for many years to come. All the customers have expressed the wish to see us return as a stronger company,” he said.
    Jean-Yves Le Gall, CEO of Arianespace, a company that has dominated the international commercial launch market, said that while launch service providers have not necessarily been impacted by market conditions, there is not likely to be a huge increase in demand for services. “We do not see the market beyond 18-20 new satellites each year. We are covering all the market needs. We are not seeing any impact of the global credit crunch on the established launch companies,” said Le Gall.